History

Peter Nixon was born in Lytham St. Annes in the county of Lancashire, England in 1956. As a child, Nixon was attracted to art despite no precedent in his family. He began drawing when he was 5 years old and aged 17 attended Blackpool College of Art and Design where he sharpened his skills and cultivated an interest in the human figure. The human form coupled with an interest in the abstractions of Cubism sparked new developments in Nixon’s style, amalgamating into a compelling artistic experience.

“Human beings don’t sit still as statues, they’re moving, breathing things, and it was that element that I wanted to create in the pictures, and that, coupled with a love of cubism, became the foundation of what I call the ‘sketch style.’”

Inspiration

Over the years, Nixon has utilised the dynamism and fluidity of music as a source of inspiration when trying to portray the energy and movement of the human figure. Nixon continually absorbs inspiration from the world around him, “experiences and memories go into a kind of mental soup in my head, to be combined and transformed” he says. He draws inspiration from the Renaissance master paintings in Venice, literature, music, Science, and Memory. He is particularly inspired by Picasso, Titian, Bellini, and Veronese, as well as
Matisse.

London itself is also a great source of inspiration for Nixon, brimming with history, culture and art galleries that constantly juxtapose ancient and modern elements. While he occasionally thinks about leaving for the countryside, he says there is no way he could leave everything the city offers behind.

Inspirations and memories like these help the artist to continually re-develop his style. Recently, Nixon looked back to the time, aged 9, when he first experienced Da Vinci’s drawings and was stirred by this memory to create a style based around Leonardo’s “sfumato,” or smoky technique. Leonardo’s drawings known as “carta una,” or ‘first sheet’ were preparatory drawings for Frescos – Nixon combines this with similar effects achieved in Etching to create a new approach.

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Education

At 17, Nixon took a foundation course at Blackpool College of Art and Design, sharpening his interest in the human figure. His drawing skills improved with the help of several draughtsman tutors and the college encouraged him to transform his interest into a passion.

He completed his artistic education at Bath Academy of Art, discovering that his work had been lacking movement and energy – an aspect he uncovered with extensive study of the figure and sketching dancers rehearsing.

Accomplishments

For a long period in his artistic career, he focused on etching, where he absorbed the discipline of an exacting method which also instilled an interest in rich texture. He found a way to deploy these interests in his ‘ornate paintings’ later.

Through his studies, he is able to explore a combination of the “sketch style” and the “ornate style” where the paintings are both spontaneous and complex, allowing him to finish a particular work at any stage still retaining elements of both styles.

A third style he developed is a combination of painting and drawing in subdued tones that reference the ‘carta una’ and ‘sfumato’ techniques of Leonardo which are paintings and drawings built up in smoky layers that have a depth and subtlety, suggesting memory and the passage of time.

About Park West Gallery

Founded in 1969 by Albert Scaglione, Park West Gallery has brought fine artworks to more than 1.8 million clients around the world through its gallery locations in Detroit, Michigan and Florida as well as cruise ship art auctions and in major metropolitan areas. Park West Gallery’s mission is to create an educational, entertaining, and welcoming environment that ignites a passion for the arts and creates a collecting experience like no other company in the world.